The ease of Internet accessibility and communication has facilitated the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. An IoT device usually includes one or more sensors and/or controllers for remote control and/or monitoring of systems, devices, and/or the environment, and often includes a network interface for connecting to a wide area network. An IoT device may be controlled by an application installed on any computing device, including user equipment and desktop computers, coupled to the IoT device via a network such as the Internet. An IoT device may use a cellular connection, a WiFi connection, and/or any other network protocols to connect to networks.
IoT devices may use cellular Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards for interfacing with a cellular network. A SIM card typically includes an identification number unique to a user and stores personal data such as passwords, phone numbers, and messages. The SIM card includes information necessary for authentication of the IoT device before connecting to a cellular network. Removal of the SIM card from an IoT device prevents the IoT device from accessing a cellular network such as 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, and 5G networks. Because many IoT devices do not use the full amount of bandwidth provided by contemporary cellular connections, IoT devices may use a narrow band, rather than the full cellular bandwidth, to transmit or receive a limited amount of data. Such IoT devices are called narrow band IoT (NB-IoT) devices and these devices usually transmit or receive data infrequently, utilizing much less than the full bandwidth available with a cellular connection.